340 THE INSECT WORLD. 



The first swarm having set out, those bees which remain in the 

 hive pay particular attention to the royal cells. If the young queens 

 make efforts to escape from them, their guardians watch them 

 narrowly, and as the prisoners destroy their covers of wax the 

 guards restore them ; but, as they do not desire the death of 

 the inmates, they pass in some honey through the opening before 

 they close it, so as to ameliorate their captivity. At the appointed 

 moment, the issue of the first egg laid quits her cradle. Very 

 soon she yields to the murderous instinct which impels her to 

 destroy her rivals, so that she may reign with undivided sway over 

 the community. She searches for the cells in which these are 

 shut up, but the moment she approaches them the workers pinch 

 her, pull her about, drive her away, and oblige her to move 

 on, and, as the royal cells are numerous, she finds with difficulty 

 any corner in her hive where she may be at rest. Incessantly 

 tormented by the desire of attacking the other females, and 

 incessantly driven back by the guard, she becomes very much 

 excited, passes through the different groups of workers at a run, 

 and communicates to them her agitation. She leads the inmates 

 of the hive the same sort of dance frequently in the course of 

 the day. 



Sometimes the young queen at the end of her attempts utters a 

 shrill song, analogous to that of the grasshopper. This song, 

 so unusual among these insects, has the effect of petrifying the 

 bees. So says Francis Huber, speaking of a queen which had 

 just been hatched, and which was trying in vain to satisfy her 

 jealous instincts. " She sang/' says he, " twice. When we saw her 

 producing this sound, she was motionless, her thorax rested against 

 the honeycomb, her wings being crossed on her back, and she 

 moved them about without uncrossing them, and without opening 

 them. Whatever cause it was that made her choose this attitude, 

 the bees seemed affected by it, all of them now lowered their heads 

 and remained motionless. Next day, the hive presented the same 

 appearances, there remained still twenty-three royal cells which 

 were all assiduously guarded by a great number of bees. The 

 moment the queen approached these, all the guards were in a state 

 of agitation, surrounded her, bit her, hustled her in every way, 

 and generally finished by driving her off ; sometimes when this 



